Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour has won the very first GRAMMY award for Best Song for Social Change.
The young musician was honoured for his Farsi-language song “Baraye” which he released last year using the tweets of people in Iran. They took to social media to share the reasons why they were risking their lives protesting on the streets, in the process, highlighting women’s rights, children’s rights, freedom of speech and more.
“Baraye” went viral, being viewed more than 40 million times in two days on Shervin’s Instagram, and became an anthem for those supporting the #WomenLifeFreedom movement as well as the Iran protests. But it also lead to Shervin’s arrest. (He has been released on bail and is currently awaiting trial.)
Shervin (or perhaps a member of his team) shared a short message on social media following his win, simply writing “we won.”
This is the first time the GRAMMYs has had a Song for Social Change category. According to the Recording Academy, more than 110,000 submissions were made for ‘Baraye’ !
“We are humbled to be able to recognise Shervin and “Baraye’ as the first recipient of the Best Song for Social Change Special Merit Award,” Harvey Mason Jr. CEO of the Recording Academy shared in a statement.
“Music is one of the most powerful forces on earth and has long been an engine of important social and political advancements. We created this award to shine a spotlight on the music that is making a difference and there couldn’t have been a better song to win this inaugural honour than Shervin’s.”
(Feature Image Credit: Shervin Hajipour/YouTube)